How false claims about the lgbt community haven’t changed in over the past 30 years,

The constant flow of
researchers and physicians who complain that anti-gay groups distort
their work to denigrate the lgbt community,

The simple fact that
there is no cohesion in the accusations anti-gay groups make against the
lgbt community (i.e. how can lgbts be sad, pathetic people if they make
more money than the “regular population” or “recruit” children, control
Hollywood, but yet have time to engage in lots of sexual intercourse),

And what the lgbt
community, and our media, should be doing to make the public more aware
of how anti-gay groups exploit religious beliefs about lgbts in order to
peddle their lies.

And with marriage equality now a reality, this booklet is needed. Our opposition is slowly transforming themselves to the so-called victims of an alleged onslaught of gays seeking to maliciously destroy their way of life.

It's a false narrative aided by the fact that there has been little to no attention on their past exploits to reduce lgbt lives to caricatures of over-sexed, diseased monsters.

The general media will do very little to correct this narrative. That's an unfortunate, but well-known fact. And I hate to say it, but our own media, too busy with topographical cultural icons and somewhat annoying arguments over academic terms having little or nothing to do with the actualities of lgbt lives are derelict in calling these people out.

That is now our job- the ordinary lgbt citizen who merely wants to live our lives in peace. We must take it upon ourselves to call out, educate, and demand the truth be told.

Don't let anti-gay groups like the Liberty Counsel exploit willful idiots like Kentucky clerk Kim Davis without reminding the world about their history of vile homophobia.

Don't let groups like the Family Research Council seize the narrative on what is the true definition of Christianity without demanding that they give an account on their distortions of legitimate science.

And don't let anti-gay groups and personalities plot and plan their next move against our God-given equality unscathed without letting them know that we know every move they make and every lie they tell because we have studied their past techniques.

THIS BOOKLET is the first step. It is the primary step and hopefully it won't be the last into shifting this so-called culture battle into one from lgbts having to constantly explain our existence to our opposition FINALLY explaining their long oxymoronic history of lies and propaganda done in God's name.

I hope that my booklet is just the beginning and that someone else publishes a better tome free of elitist academic language and embraces the commonality of simple truth-telling and how it can inspire a community.

How a Kentucky Clerk Became an Ultimate Symbol of Bigotry - I have to disagree with Michelangelo Signorile here. If Kim Davis faces any jail time for her illegal actions, the right may view it as a victory which they can exploit, but ultimately it will be a serious loss. As I said yesterday, if she had a private business, she would have more leverage. However, folks aren't exactly on the side of a government official who has decided that she will NOT do her job AND deserves to get paid taxpayer money for the "privilege."

The Houston Chronicle thoroughly debunked a popular myth
being peddled by opponents of the Houston Equal rights Ordinance (HERO).
Other Houston news outlets, which have been uncritically repeating the
false talking point for months, should follow the Chronicle's lead.

The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance,
or HERO, is a broad non-discrimination ordinance that was passed by
Houston's City Council in 2014. HERO prohibits discrimination in areas
like housing, employment, and city contracts on the basis of 15
characteristics, including race, sex, disability, religion, sexual
orientation, and gender identity. Anti-LGBT conservatives in Houston
have fought to repeal the ordinance, successfully lobbying to put HERO up for a public vote on Houston's November ballot.

Since the start of the debate over HERO, Houston media outlets have made a consistenthabit of uncritically repeating right-wing misinformation about the ordinance, including peddling the widely-debunked myth
that HERO would allow sexual predators to sneak into women's restrooms
by pretending to be transgender - a bogus talking point championed by HERO's opponents.

In an August 25 column, The Houston Chronicle's
Lisa Falkenberg did what other local news outlets have failed to do -
investigated and debunked the bogus "bathroom bill" claim:

The so-called HERO ordinance, which will appear on the November
ballot, really has little to do with potty time. It's about protecting
people against discrimination in employment, housing and other sectors.
It protects gay and transgender people, but also bans discrimination
based on sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion,
disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family,
marital or military status. So why are we talking about bathrooms?
Because one small aspect of it would let transgender people use the
bathroom of their choice.

That means a transgender woman who may wear dresses and makeup can
use the women's restroom, rather than turning heads at the urinals. A
transgender man who may sport lumberjack attire and a burly beard can
use the men's restroom. It's really quite simple. It's about reducing
drama, not creating it. As one transgender activist explains in a
popular Twitter hashtag, #wejustneedtopee.

This simple accommodation has become the bogeyman's best weapon.
Critics suggest it will lead to men dressing up as women to assault
women and girls in bathrooms.

[...]
As Richard Carlbom with the pro-ordinance Houston Unites campaign
told the Chronicle: "Nothing in the equal rights ordinance changes the
fact that it is - and always will be - illegal to enter a restroom to
harm or harass other people."

If this ordinance posed a real danger, opponents wouldn't have to
find some future parent to feign fear of becoming a victim "one day."
They could surely find a real victim in one of the other cities that
passed anti-discrimination ordinances decades ago.

[...]
In 1997, the city of Cambridge became one of the first jurisdictions
in Massachusetts to amend its human rights ordinance to include gender
identity and expression, police spokesman Jeremy Warnick said Tuesday.

He sent me the full testimony of police Superintendent Christopher
Burke before the state House in 2011, advocating for a statewide bill
for transgender equal rights.

Burke, speaking "as a member of the law enforcement community,
husband, father and citizen," testified that the bill would not harm
women and children. He said there had been no incidents or issues
regarding people abusing the Cambridge ordinance.

Massachusetts passed the law. Houstonians should do the same.

Even if you insist on voting against it, pick another reason. Maybe
you don't want to condone a transgender lifestyle. Maybe you believe
protections for some groups are already extended by federal law, and you
don't want a local ordinance that could offer relief more quickly and
less expensively for your fellow Houstonians.

But don't vote against the ordinance because of urban myths about
sexual predators in bathrooms. Sexual predators exist. But if they
wanted to attack you in a public bathroom, they wouldn't need a city
ordinance to do it.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.